Men behaving sadly

BAD-TEMPERED? Nervous? Easily reduced to tears? If you are a man, you could be suffering from irritable male syndrome.

This newly recognised condition plays havoc with male animals, temporarily turning confident, chest-beating Tarzans into withdrawn, grumpy wimps. And there's some evidence that irritable male syndrome, which is triggered by a sudden drop in testosterone, affects men as well as animals, says Gerald Lincoln of the Medical Research Council's Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in Edinburgh.

The symptoms may resemble those of the so-called male menopause, but Lincoln believes the condition can affect men of any age when stress causes testosterone levels to plummet. If he's right, it's not just women who have their hormonal ups and downs.

Lincoln first pinpointed the syndrome in Soay sheep. In the autumn, the rams' testosterone levels soar and they rut. In the winter, testosterone levels plummet and they lose interest in sex. High testosterone ...

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